L.J. Smith
Lisa Jane Smith, known professionally as L. J. Smith (born September, 4, 1965) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is an American author of young-adult literature. Her books, which combine elements of the genres of supernatural, horror, science fiction/fantasy, and romance, are populated with young human and supernatural characters locked in dark vs. evil conflict. A dark antagonist typically seduces a heroine into the darkness, but in some cases, is instead reborn into the light. Her books particularly The Vampire Diaries and The Night World series have been in the New York Times Bestselling list and have been nominated for Favorite Book awards. Early life and education Smith is secretive about her age, but multiple sources list her birth date as September, 4, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was raised in Anaheim, California, where she attended Juliette Low Elementary School and Serrano Elementary, followed by Cerro Villa Junior High School and Villa Park High School. Before going to college, she moved to Goring-on-Thames, United Kingdom. She attended Millis College for one year, then the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated with degrees in English and Physiological Psychology. At the University of San Francisco, she obtained a Masters Degree in Education and Regular and Special Education. Smith began her career as an elementary school teacher, but left after 3 years to pursue writing. She lives in Danville, California, with her pets and thousands of books. The character Meredith, in The Vampire Diaries series, is inspired by her niece of the same name. She chose the setting of The Vampire Diaries in Virginia because she has family there and was inspired by the small towns and lifestyles. Career Smith has said that she realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, "when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written", and she began writing in earnest in elementary school. Her first book, The Night of the Solstice, written during high school and college, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by Heart of Valor in 1990. They sold poorly, as they were labeled for 9 to 11-year-olds and not for young adults, as Smith wanted. The Vampire Diaries series was commissioned by Elise Donner, editor of Alloy Entertainment in 1990: Smith immediately wrote the scene when Elena, Bonnie and Meredith are decorating the gym and the heroine meets Damon (scene later included in the first novel), while, as for the other characters, she adapted those of The Garden of Earthly Delights, an adult book she was writing. Three trilogies followed: The Secret Circle ''(1992), ''The Forbidden Game (1994) and Dark Visions ''(1995). The first installment of ''Night World series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new website and a series of new short series. The Vampire Diaries ''series was reissued in 2007, followed of ''The Secret Circle ''trilogy and ''Night World ''series in 2008-2009. ''The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor ''were also reissued in 2008. Three new ''The Vampire Diaries ''installments were published in 2009 and 2010. The series was later adapted into a TV series (''The Vampire Diaries) in 2009, as well as The Secret Circle, which became a TV series of the same name in 2010. The final volume of The Vampire Diaries ''written entirely by Smith (''The Return : Midnight) was released in March 2011. Smith submitted a draft of the next installment (The Hunters: Phantom), but after a dispute regarding a pivotal plot twist, her involvement was terminated by the publisher and the episode was revived by a ghostwriter. Subsequent The Vampire Diaries ''installments have also been ghostwritten. She was also replaced on ''The Secret Circle series, by ghostwriter Aubrey Clark. Book List 'The Night World series' #''Secret Vampire'' (1996) #''Daughters of Darkness'' (1996) #''Spellbinder (1996) #''Dark Angel ''(1996) #''The Chosen (1997) #''Soulmate (1997) #''Huntress ''(1997) #''Black Dawn ''(1997) #''Witchlight ''(1998) #''Strange Fate ''(TBA) 'Omnibuses' *''Night World : Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder ''(2008) *''Night World : Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate (2008) *''Night World : Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight (2009) 'Short Stories' Published on Lisa Jane Smith official website. *''Thicker Than Water - Featuring Keller, Rashel,Galen and Quinn *''Ash and Mary-Lynnete : Those Who Favor Fire'' *''Jez and Morgead's Night Out'' 'The Vampire Diaries series' #''The Awakening :Volume I'' (1991) #''The Struggle : Volume II'' (1991) #''The Fury : Volume III (1991) #''Dark Reunion : Volume IV ''(1992) 'The Vampire Diaries : The Return Trilogy' #''The Return : Night fall ''(2009) #''The Return : Shadow Souls ''(2010) #''The Return: Midnight ''(2011) 'The Vampire Diaries : The Hunters Trilogy' #''The Hunters : Phantom ''(2011) #''The Hunters : Moonsong ''(2012) #''The Hunters : Destiny Rising ''(2012) 'Omnibuses' *''The Awakening ''and The Struggle (2007) *''The Fury ''and ''Dark Reunion ''(2007) 'Short Stories' Published on Lisa Jane Smith official website. *''Matt and Elena - First Date *''Matt and Elena -Tenth Date : On Wickery Pond'' *''An Untold Tale : Elena's Christmas'' *''Bonnie and Damon : After Hours'' 'The Secret Circle series' #''The Initiation (1992) #''The Captive ''(1992) #''The Power ''(1992) #''The Divide ''(2012) #''The Hunt ''(2012) #''The Temptation ''(2013) 'Omnibuses' *''The Initiation ''and ''The Captive Part I ''(2008) *''The Captive Part II ''and ''The Power ''(2008) 'The Forbidden Game series' #''The Hunter ''(1994) #''The Chase ''(1994) #''The Kill ''(1994) #''Rematch 'Omnibuses' *''The Forbidden Game : The Hunter, The Chase, The Kill (2010) 'Dark Visions series #''The Strange Power'' (1994) #''The Possessed (1995) #''The Passion ''(1995) #''Blindsight ''(TBA) 'Omnibuses *''Dark Visions : The Strange Power, The Possessed, The Passion (2009) 'Wildworld series' #''The Night of the Solstice ''(1987) #''Heart of Valor ''(1990) #''Mirrors of Heaven (TBA) 'Novels' *''Eternity : A Vampire Love Story ''(TBA) *''The Last Lullaby ''(TBA) External links * L. J. Smith - official Web site